BLANEY AND THE 12 TEAM ‘BACK IN THE RIGHT DIRECTION’ AT DARLINGTON

After starting towards the tail end of the field Sunday afternoon at Martinsville, Ryan Blaney and the No. 12 Advance Auto Parts Ford Mustang rallied for an 11th-place finish to cap off the weekend at the half-mile short track. The first caution flag flew on lap 32, allowing the No. 12 team to flip its track position as the majority of the field opted to pit while Blaney was one of six cars to stay out, setting him up to take the ensuing restart from fifth. Ultimately, fresher tires prevailed over the course of the following run as Blaney settled for an 18th-place finish in Stage 1. Following a four tire stop and a round of adjustments during the stage caution, Blaney worked his way back into the top-10 by lap 144 and continued his fight to the front, coming away with a sixth-place result in Stage 2. Blaney settled into fifth for the opening run of the final stage before the last round of pit stops took place following the caution on lap 274 as the Advance Auto Parts Ford lined up to take the green flag from seventh with 114 laps remaining. Blaney continued to hold steady in the top-10 before the field took the green one last time with 75 laps to go, but was unable to make up any ground over the course of the final run in an 11th-place effort.